Author's Note

Before we start this chapter, I just want to thank you guys for giving this story a read. For those who are new, this is actually a reboot to my very first story that I didn't prepare very well when I first published it. Now that I've gained enough experience as a writer and learned some techniques, I can actually tell this story better than I did over a year ago.

I forgot to mention this when I published the first chapter, so I'll say it here. Thank you for taking a look at this, and I hope you'll enjoy what I have in store for Starry Night and his friends.

Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 2: Preparing for a New Day

Chapter 2: Preparing for a New Day

“So… You’re going to confess to him later today?” Creamy asked as we were putting on our training clothes for the day.

“That’s the plan.”

“How are you going to do it?”

“I’ll get his attention with my mom’s special corn casserole recipe I’ll make after my interview, we’ll chat a little, then I’ll bring up our time together and where we’ll go from there.”

“You sound really serious, Lumina. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“When it’s something like this, it’s not a laughing matter.”

“What got you to do this in the first place?”

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. “I hate to admit this, but Nil was the one who convinced me enough to make the choice.”

“Really? He must be pretty good for a pervert to make you come to that decision. Did he threaten to steal your panties if you don’t or something?”

“Nah, he may not be smart when it comes to mares, but he knows when not to mess with me if he wants to live the next day. It went a little more something like this…”

“I gotta find that colt. I just need to know.”

“Nil, get over yourself. A pony eating a gem like rock candy out of nowhere can surprise anypony, but there’s no reason to get worked up over it. You may not even see him again.”

“You don’t understand, Lumina. Finding facts to understand the world around us is one of the main goals for anypony who’s passionate in the sciences. Any hint of a pony exhibiting a unique behavior is a scientific discovery!”

We were in our favorite restaurant enjoying our dinner (or at least one of us was trying to). Nil had calmed down from his freak out, but couldn’t let go of the fact that a pony had eaten a gem like any other kind of food. I was getting rather annoyed of him getting all hung up on it, so I tried to change the subject.

“Are you planning to go into some sort of scientific field for a career, then?” I asked. “I have seen you build some odd stuff sometimes, but you looked really into it. How come you didn’t enroll in a university instead?”

“I have my reasons for enrolling in the E.U.P. Guard Academy.”

There was a pause between us as Nil took a few bites out of his food.

“... Can you tell me what those reasons are?” I asked.

“I’ll tell you at some point.”

Ugh! How weird can this guy get?!

“Anyway, what are you planning on doing?” Nil asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not planning on staying at the academy forever, are you? So I’m asking where you’re going to go once you leave.”

“I don’t know, I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. Why? Do I need to?”

“You may if Shining Armor doesn’t stay in the academy.”

That statement froze me up.

“You’ve seen for yourself how capable he is being in the guard, right?” Nil asked. “He’s been working towards that goal for quite some time now, and there have been cases where trainees enroll into the guard even after only one year in the academy. He could be one of them this year.”

Fuck, he’s right about that.

“So if you’re planning on telling him how you feel, I suggest you’d do that soon, unless you’re going to follow him into the Royal Guard itself,” Nil continued. “It would mean you’ll have more time to prepare, but at the same time, you’ll be joining the guard for entirely different reasons than everypony else. Where you want to go from here is for you to decide.”

“… Sheesh, you’re really something when you talk like that,” I commented.

“I’m just telling what I’ve learned from personal experiences. Nothing too special.”

“So does that mean you have everything planned out yourself, too?”

“I could be doing that very thing right now, but I have some things I need to take care of first. Being in the academy is part of that, and I’ll be finishing that phase pretty soon.”

“And you’ll be telling me that sometime soon too, right?”

“Indeed.”

“Wow, that’s really something,” Creamy commented as I tied my mane in a ponytail. “And that’s how you came to confessing to Shining Armor?”

“Yep.”

“You know other mares have tried to ask him out and got turned down, right? Not to sound rude or anything, but how do you know it will be different for you?”

“Well, we have hung out and talked for the past year. I think that’s long enough to start thinking about taking our relationship a step further, and I know I like him enough to give him a try.”

“So does that mean you’ll be in the guard with him too?”

“… I’m still thinking about that.”

“Well, whatever you decide, you’ve got my support.” Creamy accentuated this with a pat on her bosom. “I know I’ll be going into the guard when the opportunity comes up, so if you end up coming along too, I got your back.”

I smiled at that. “Thanks, Creamy. That means a lot.”

“Anytime.”

All of us stood in two lines at attention in the training grounds. I stood between Nil and Shining Armor like usual, but was really tense for what I was facing today: the Commander of Defense, and confessing my feelings to a stallion I really like. The only other time I was this nervous was my very first date back home.

“ATTENTION!” the drill sergeant exclaimed, making us stand up straighter than before. “Listen up, trainees! Today we have special guests from the Royal Guard who will be monitoring your performances and evaluating your progress to be future guard ponies. Everypony give salute to Commander of Defense and Offense: Marine Night and Gale Storm!”

“GOOD MORNING, SIRS!” we all yelled.

“At ease,” one voice ordered with a calm, yet authoritative tone before we shifted our stance to a more comfortable position with arms behind our backs, still at attention.

At one end of the lines were two stallions: Marine Night, a dark blue unicorn with a long black mane and tail, stood at the left in his uniform, crimson eyes forward with hands behind his back; on the right stood Gale Storm, a dark green pegasus with a uniform of similar structure, but about the same color as Nil’s jacket, with a white mane styled like it was blown behind him by the wind, and a tail in a similar state of disarray. He stood in position with Marine, but his presence was far more overpowering, perhaps condescending in comparison.

“As you’ve heard, we’ll be monitoring your training for today!” Gale exclaimed as he walked down the lines. “Today, we will see if you have what it takes to join our ranks in the guard, the strength to power through any obstacle, the speed to run circles around your enemy, and the aggression to take down anypony that stands in your way, no matter the cost!”

“That’s not all there is to being a soldier, Commander Gale,” Marine intervened as he walked down the path, grazing the other trainees as he passed by. “This squadron… I can certainly see changes from some of you that I met at orientation last year. Some of you have gotten stronger. Not through physical means, no, but mentally, whether it be with emotion, cognition, or intelligence. Some of you probably went through traumatic, sad, or life changing experiences, but you’ve learned from them and got stronger along the way.

“There may be many reasons why you’re here today, whether it be to find your place in life, searching yourself, or the main reason why we have this academy: to shape ponies into the best guards imagined to protect our royal monarch, our loved ones, our comrades, and maintaining the peace in Equestria. Whatever motivations you have for coming here, I would like to personally thank you for choosing this academy to find your calling, and for considering being one of the many offering their time and lives to maintaining this land of harmony.

“Today, Commander Gale and I will be recording your progress throughout your training, and we will be holding interviews with each of you about what you have experienced here and what you’ll do next. There will be no skipping out on the latter. When we call you in, you will follow with no arguments, questions, or excuses.” Marine suddenly stopped in front of me. Though facing straight ahead, he looked at me with those fearsome crimson eyes. “Do I make myself clear?”

“SIR YES SIR!” we all answered. Part of me wanted to think that last question went to everypony in the squad, but when he looked at me back then, I could tell it was directed mostly to me.

Gale snorted and cleared his throat. “All right. Sergeant, they’re all yours.”

“ALL RIGHT TRAINEES!” the drill sergeant started. “FOUR LAPS AROUND THE OBSTACLE COURSE! LET’S GO GO GO!”

“SIR YES SIR!”

“You have everything you need for today, sweetie?” Mom asked me for like the umpteenth time today.

“Yes, Mom,” I drawled.

“Got your bits?”

“Yep.”

“Pocket watch?”

“Yep.”

“Spare change of underwear?”

“… Really, Mom? Does anypony even carry something like that?”

“I’m just messing with ya, sweetie. Oh! Hang on, this needs to be fixed.” She then licked her hand and ‘fixed’ my mane. “Gotta look good for your date with your marefriends today.”

“Ugh! Mooom! My mane’s fine! And they’re not my marefriends!” Before my mom could embarrass me any further, I was out the door.

“Don’t be out too late now! Remember, we’re having your favorite for dinner!” she called out as I jogged to the street.

“Got it! Bye Mom!” I exclaimed with a wave as I jogged to the east, meeting Misty at her mansion first for the day. I got my mane back to the casually straight style once I was out of Mom’s sight, and transitioned to a walk with heavy eyelids while forcing a smile.

I can already tell this day is going to turn out great. I need something like this after all I’ve been through the past few weeks.

It was definitely a hectic time. I even skipped out on studying last night to get extra sleep; yet, I still felt tired from the dream I was having lately. What’s really strange though was that last night the dream turned out differently than what I was used to. Most of it was pretty much the same: blackness, glowing chains, and the voice calling my name. One thing I didn’t notice until then was that with each trip I had in the dream, I was getting closer and closer to that clump of chains before I woke up. Plus, the number of times my name was called had increased as well. Last night, I was able to touch the clump, and the voice had other things to say.

“Starry… Please… Free me…”

That was what all she said, and unexpectedly, the chains started to rattle until some of the links began to crack. My alarm woke me up before the dream progressed any further.

What exactly are these dreams showing me? What is all of this leading me up to?

Before I knew it, I was already at the front gates of Misty’s mansion. I put my thoughts to the side and smiled as I walked to the intercom and pressed the buzzer.

“Who is it?” an old stallion asked through the speaker.

“It’s Starry Night. I’m here to pick up Misty?”

“Ah! Master Starry, we’ve been expecting you. Please, do come right in.”

Soon the gates opened inward and I walked to the entrance. As I approached the door, it opened to reveal an old, dark grey earth pony stallion with a combed back silver mane and a big, stylized mustache. The butler wore an expensive tux with tails, a red bow tie, and white linen gloves.

“Good morning, Master Starry,” the head butler greeted with a bow.

“Morning, Sigmund. Is Misty ready to go?”

“She’s just getting ready. Would you please wait in the living room while I let her know you’re here?”

“Sure.”

He then went up the stairs while I went to the living room on my right. No matter how many times I enter Misty’s home, it still amazes me how big the place was. I’ve even gotten myself lost here sometimes. I sat down on one of the plushy chairs that was in the room, which was as comfy as it was luxurious. I yawned from how relaxed I was getting in my seat.

I think I’ll just rest my eyes for a bit until Misty comes by.

I did just that with little effort, and I zonked out almost immediately.

“Ooh… Which one should I go with?” I was holding up one ensemble in each hand, putting each one in front of me as I checked myself in my wardrobe’s mirror. “This one matches my eyes and gives me a cute appeal, but it may stand out with how doll-like it is and doesn’t show much of my mature side, while this one is more casual and more fitting for a nice day, but you could see my underarms and the skirt’s a little too short for something like this. I don’t want to look like some kind of skank. Blast it. Cinny, what do you think?”

“H-Huh? Oh no no! I couldn’t possibly pick which one’s best, Lady Misty! They both look wonderful on you!”

Cinny, one of our manor’s newest service maids, was a buttercream colored earth pony mare with a braided red mane and tail (the former styled into twin tails), freckles, and large, rounded glasses. I thought I’d give her a chance to ease into her job by giving me her opinion on my dresses, but like any new ponies working for a noble, she thought she should just tell me what I want to hear instead of voicing her own thoughts. Can’t say I blame her, though. She was trembling like a scared chihuahua on her first day, and Mother and Father didn’t exactly help with her self-esteem.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. “Cinny, it’s okay for you to give me an opinion. It’s not like your job is at stake here.”

She stiffened up and I could see a chill running down her spine.

Nice choice of words there, Misty. You’ve really loosened her up now. “Cinny, I really mean it. I’ve made good friends with everypony on staff here, and if there’s one thing I highly value from my friends, it’s their opinion. I’d like to get acquainted with you as well, and hearing what you think I should wear would give it a good start. Would you do this for me?”

Cinny put a hand to her chest and took deep, shaky breaths. “D-Do… you really mean that?”

“Absolutely.” I gave a smile to get my point across.

“W-Well, if I had to be honest…” Cinny walked over to the small pile of discarded clothes on my bed I didn’t think would be good enough for my day out with Starry and Granite. She sifted through the pile until she pulled one out to show me. “I kind of like this one the best. You looked like you didn’t pay too much attention to this when you were going through your wardrobe, but just one glimpse of this had the image of you wearing this stuck in my head.”

“Hmm…” I thoroughly inspected her choice of attire and held it in front of me while looking at the mirror. I smiled at how pleasing the outcome was. Ohh~, I remember this one. Not bad, Cinny. I like the way you think. “This looks perfect. Thank you, Cinny.”

She sighed and fixed her glasses. “I’m so glad you feel that way. May I help you put it on?”

“Please.” I passed the attire back to her, turned back to the mirror, and held my arms up. “So what made you decide to pick this one?” I asked as she started dressing me.

“I guess I just thought this would be something I’d wear if I was going out on a date,” she answered with a smile.

The reflection of my face suddenly turned red. “W-What?! A date?!”

“Is that not what you were getting ready for? From the way you were speaking earlier, it looked like you were worried about how your coltfriend would see you.”

“L-Like I would worry over something like that! He already knows how beautiful I am, and we’re only going to hang out with Granite today. Nothing more!”

Cinny covered her giggles. “Of course, Lady Misty. In all honesty, though, I really do like this dress. I kind of wish I had it in my size with a different color.”

Once Cinny was finished dressing me up, I turned to look at her body. The one thing that stood out from everything else were her large breasts. I wondered if they were part of the reason why Father employed her to the service staff, as they looked to be E cup sized mounds. Even so, the rest of her body was still well in proportion, and I couldn’t help but felt aggravated knowing how small my chest was in comparison.

“Um… L-Lady Misty? Why are you glaring me like that?” Cinny asked.

Her question suddenly snapped me out of it and I shook my head before forcing a smile. “Oh, it’s nothing. I thought I spotted a speck of dirt on your uniform. Looks like I was wrong… Oh ho ho ho.” Just remember, Misty: the bigger the bags, the farther they’ll sag.

A few knocks on the door saved the moment from getting any more tense before I heard my trusty head butler calling from behind it. “Lady Misty, Master Starry has arrived. He’s waiting in the living room.”

“Oh no! He’s here already?!” I quickly fetched my purse and powerwalked out of my room past Sigmund while keeping my posture in good form. As I made my way to the living room, Cinny’s question about me worrying Starry over my appearance clouded my mind.

Can’t say that what she said wasn’t partly true. Even though Starry told me himself that I was pretty, I can’t shake how he was seeing that mare yesterday. She looked so beautiful, even if her breasts were perhaps smaller than Cinny’s. I didn’t think Starry would be into older mares, but I can sort of see why he would think that way. I shook my head and gave my cheeks a few good smacks. No Misty! You must not lose confidence in yourself now! You’ll just have to show Starry that you can be just as mature, maybe even more so than that mare, and be beautiful on top of that. It’s imperative that you…

My thoughts trailed off as I approached Starry, who was fast asleep on one of the living room’s chairs. His light snoring was a quick giveaway of how tired he was.

“Aw, he looks so cute,” I cooed in a whisper. But did I keep him waiting long enough for him to fall asleep like this? Then again, he has been having trouble staying up some days lately. Blast it, now I’m more worried over his health than his view on my appearance. I need to see how he’s doing.

I walked to his front, squatted slightly, and lightly shook his shoulder. “Psst. Starry. Staaarryyyy. Wake up.”

“Mgh.” My eyelids felt heavy as I forced them open, my vision adjusting to give me clarity while I tried to blink. Soon, I could see a familiar pair of icy blue eyes, the filly’s muzzle also close enough to where I felt her hot breath against me. The reality of the situation was slowly dawning on me, and it looked like Misty was thinking the same thing as our faces were heating up before she pulled back.

“Um… Good morning, Starry,” she greeted while looking to the side, shuffling in place.

“Y-Yeah, good morning.” I wiped my eyes and stood up before fixing my clothes.

“I sincerely apologize. Did you wait long for me?”

“N-No no! Not at all! I was just a little tired on my way here.”

She sighed and placed a hand to her chest. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your sleeping habits are getting a little out of hand lately, Starry. I’m getting a little worried. Have you been getting enough rest?”

I sighed. “I admit, I’ve stayed up a couple times for study reasons, but that’s not all there is to it. It’s just the recurring dream I told you and Granite about. I even went to bed early last night to prepare for today, and I still got tired because of the dream after I woke up.”

“Really?”

“Yes. This weekend may be different because of the exams, but once those are out of the way, I’ll get more hours of rest. I think that’s all I really need.”

“… You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Sky promise?” Misty then held her pinky out front with a small smile.

I nodded and smiled in return. “Sky promise.” I then held my own pinky out and we made the same motions we did yesterday while counting them out, ending with our fists one knuckle away from each other before we chuckled a little.

When I calmed down, I noticed the baby blue dress Misty was wearing. It had short see-through sleeves; a good portion of her collar bone was seen thanks to the square-shaped neckline; and the skirt was draped to just above her knees. Her chest area looked to be made of silk while everything else below the ribs was some other soft material, maybe cotton.

“Is something the matter, Starry?”

Misty’s question snapped me out of my trance with a few blinks before I rubbed my eyes. “N-no, nothing big. I guess I just forget how you look when you’re not in our school uniform sometimes.”

“Oh? Well, what do you think of this one? I actually bought this pretty recently.” She gave a small twirl on one hoof, causing the skirt of her dress to twirl and flutter along with her movement until she came to a stop. She put her hands behind her back and leaned forward before fluttering her eyelashes. “How do I look?”

“You look really nice. Very pretty.” My face warmed up and I berated myself internally from how dumb I sounded.

“Thank you, Starry.” She stood back up and walked past me with a turquoise purse around her shoulder while smiling. “Shall we be off to Granite’s then?”

“Y-Yeah, sure.” I shook myself out of my daze and followed Misty to the door where Sigmund and what looked like one of her manor’s new (and dare I say very well endowed) maids stood to see us off.

“Can I trust you to bring Lady Misty home before dark?” Sigmund asked.

“You can count on me, Sigmund. I’ll be sure she comes back safely.”

“Very well.” He then opened the door before Misty and I walked out side by side.

“Have fun on your date!” the maid exclaimed, catching the two of us off-balance. We averted our gazes away from each other until we were off of Misty’s property.

“Geez, slow down, Granite. Ya might choke yourself if you’re not careful.”

“Ahm fine, Mom,” I replied with my mouth full before continuing to shovel more of my breakfast. Suddenly, I had trouble swallowing what was in my mouth and thumped my fist on my chest. When that failed, I quickly took my glass of orange juice and downed it with what was in my muzzle, then breathed a big sigh of relief. I looked up to see my Mom with her arms crossed and a raised brow before I laughed nervously. “Right… I’ll slow down.”

“Honestly, you’ve got plenty of time before your friends come in. I know it because you came back from your morning run in record time before I even finished cooking breakfast.”

“I just want a chance to clean up before they come, ya know?”

Mom made an exaggerated gasp. “Sweet Celestia. My Granite cleaning up before starting the day? Are you sure you’re my daughter?”

“Hey, I know I go to school sweaty sometimes—”

“Sometimes?”

“Okay okay, three to four times a week with how late I am for school, but this is serious.”

“Not that I’m trying to insult you or anything, but you could clean up after yourself more.”

“It’s not like I don’t want to take showers in the morning. Showers after workouts are awesome. I’m just bad with timing. I’m just lucky to have gym first thing in the morning and I shower after that in the locker rooms.”

“Still, it’s not like you to get so anxious to take a shower. Unless you’re trying to get the attention of a colt.”

My face heated up and I averted my gaze while crossing my arms. “Sh-shut up. Why would I worry about how Star sees me?”

“Well for one thing, I didn’t say it was Starry’s attention you were trying to get.”

… Fuck.

“Anyway, he’s a handsome colt and has been a good help around shop sometimes. If you’re really into him, I say go for it and show him the good stuff.”

“Mom!”

“What? You’re an attractive filly and can use your looks to your advantage. You could knock him out more with them than your fighting moves if you do it right. It’s how I snagged your father, after all.”

I didn’t need to hear that part. I finished what was left of my plate and drank the rest of my juice before standing up. “I’m gonna go clean up.”

“How are your ears, by the way? They been doin’ all right?”

“They feel okay. Can I put them on after my shower?”

“Go for it.”

I then dashed upstairs and went straight to the shower after I grabbed a change of clothes. I made sure I was thorough with my cleaning, even borrowing Mom’s scented soap and shampoo for good measure. Once I stepped out and dried off, I quickly brushed my mane and tail to a somewhat decent style before grabbing my new accessories.

“Alright. Let’s see how this goes.”

“I still can’t believe I might actually get into the gifted school for unicorns if things turn out well,” I said as we made our way to Granite’s home. “Just think, I may be learning things about magic that only a select handful of ponies would know about, and how I could use it to help ponies is anypony’s guess. How exciting is that?”

“H-Huh? Oh, yes. That sounds really nice.”

I raised a brow at Misty’s response. “Is something the matter?”

“Well… It’s just—oh! It looks like we’re here.”

I looked ahead and, sure enough, Granite’s two-story home/place of business for her mom’s tailoring and designing was there with the “OPEN” sign hanging on the front door.

“Let’s head on in,” Misty said before heading towards it first.

I found it strange how Misty changed the subject like that, but I shrugged it off and followed her inside. A bell rang once the door was opened, and we took in the wide variety of attires in the shop part’s main lobby. In the back of the building, we saw Granite’s mom, Sultry Stone, in the kitchen washing dishes. She was a curvy, light-orange earth pony mare with her blonde mane tied in a bun, and a coiled, matching colored tail. She had a black, V-shape collared blouse with short sleeves and a white long skirt that reached her hooves, which had a slit on the side that was long and open enough for movement while showing off her legs.

“Good morning, Ms. Stone,” Misty greeted with a curtsy.

“Why good morning, Misty! Starry!” Ms. Stone finished the last of her dishes and walked to the lobby.

“Is Granite getting ready?” I asked.

“She sure is. She’ll be down in a few minutes. And may I just say, Misty, I am lovin’ how you look in that dress.”

“Thank you. A very talented tailor designed this for me.”

“Talented, huh? I’ll certainly take that to heart.” Ms. Stone smiled.

Wait, did Ms. Stone make the dress Misty’s wearing?

“What do you think, Starry? You want me to make you something special, too? I’m sure Granite would like to see how handsome a young stallion you can be.” Ms. Stone grinned and winked.

“Uhh…”

“Mom! Don’t put Star on the spot like that!”

The three of us turned to the source upstairs to find Granite walking down the steps. From how clean she looked, she must have just stepped out of the shower, especially with how healthy and well-brushed her mane and tail were from the way they bounced. She was sporting her favorite signature black leather jacket Ms. Stone designed and refitted for her throughout the years over a low-cut white tank top, showing off her belly-button and subtle muscle lines on her abs from all the training she went through. Then there were her washed-out jeans that fitted her just right to show off the toned muscles on her legs while still keeping her movements free. The whole thing portrayed her as being one of those bad girls you see from gangs, but knowing Granite for so long only made me see how attractive she looked, especially since she’s not as scary and mean as others would make her out to be… So long as you didn’t piss her off, of course.

Wait… is it just me, or is there something different about—

“*Gasp* Granite! You got your ears pierced!” Misty exclaimed. “Was that what you were running off for yesterday?”

“Yep. Didn’t want to be late for my appointment to get them done.”

“How do they feel?”

“Punching the hole hurt like Tartarus. They’re a little sensitive right now.” Granite moved one of her hands to the silver studs on her ears and grazed over them. “Still trying to get used to having these on me. What do you think, Star?”

“Huh? Oh! They look really cute on you!” I responded almost too quickly. When I realized what I just said, I mentally face-palmed. Fuck! What the fuck did I just say?! I should’ve said something like ‘cool’ or ‘awesome,’ something to fit her tough girl look. ‘Cute’ just basically downplays that image! What is she gonna do?! Why’s nopony saying anything?!

“I agree with Starry on this one!” Misty exclaimed gleefully. “They complement you really well. I wish I could do something with mine too, but Mother and Father wouldn’t approve.”

“H-Huh? Oh, thanks... I forgot my pouch, I’ll be right back.” Granite then sprinted upstairs before we said anything else. My eyes must have been playing tricks on me, but I could’ve sworn I saw her face was tinted red.

A fit of giggles derailed my train of thought, and I turned to see it was Ms. Stone who was trying to cover it with her mouth. “Looks like you two might have brightened her day. I gotta get back to work, but be sure Granite gets back home before dark.”

“We will. You have a good day, Ms. Stone,” Misty bid before Ms. Stone nodded and went downstairs in the back of the kitchen where her workshop was.

It was only Misty and me standing in the lobby now, waiting for Granite to get her bits so we could start our day.

“So… Ms. Stone designed that dress for you?” I asked with my gaze averted.

“Indeed she did. I think I’ve come to like this as one of my favorites.”

“She did a really good job on it. It looks great on you.”

“Thank you, Starry.”

Soon, sounds of hoofsteps were heard again as Granite rushed back down to the lobby. ”Okay, I’m all set. Let’s quit twiddlin’ our thumbs and get to the movie already!”

Misty and I nodded and we left the shop. My thoughts lingered as I tried to keep myself in the conversation as we walked.

I’m not sure when I’ll ever come to the decision of going out with Misty or Granite, but I hope later on the three of us will keep getting along like we are right now. I just wish the other two girls I met before them were here with us too, especially the one I made that promise to, so she’d see how far I’ve gone to become the dependable stallion she wanted me to be. I’m sure she’d be proud of me, but I know I’ve still got quite a ways to go. Ebony would probably like to get to know them as well. I just wish I knew where she is right now.

Either way, I just know this summer will be something I’ll never forget. I bet my gut on it.